At home in my neighbourhood
Integrative concepts for housing estates with a high share of elder inhabitants

The social aspect in housing is of great importance in Vienna. At present 22 percent of the Viennese population is 60 years or older. According to current forecasts, more than 27 percent of Vienna's population will be older than 60 by 2050, nearly 12 percent will be older than 75 years by then.

The goal of this project is to find ways of making it possible that elderly people may live in their familiar surroundings as long as possible and thus also up to an old age even if this seems difficult, e.g., due to disability or other confining circumstances. This project focuses on those housing units that are already inhabited by elderly people and will remain their home for the next 20 years.

First, international research dealing with this issue was done in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. The research presents the different approaches of social housing developers to adapt their existing residential areas according to the social and demographic changes. The measures do not only imply adapting the existing units of real estate so that they become more or less .barrier-free. but also at the same time the development of new units replacing old ones, the amalgation of flats and in addition the amplification of living facilities on offer regarding variety (short-term care, assisted living) and also other housing related services. Satisfying and thus maintaining elderly clients by offering a varied range of forms of housing and related services seems to be of interest to almost all housing construction companies. They consider the constantly changing requirements pertaining to housing or "living" a challenge that has to be met by constant adaptation to the mentioned, ever changing, circumstances.

In a second step, social housing developers in Vienna were involved in the process. Their immediate interest in putting into action various projects pertaining to refurbishments became obvious during the discussion and definition of project goals in the context of this challenge on an international level. However, it can be mentioned here that these projects are in the majority of cases put into action when new housing units are developed.

As one prerequisite for this plan, specific incentives of the part of the promoters of such projects were mentioned. Furthermore, it has not been considered necessary for Vienna to implement organisational models (like the foundation in the Netherlands), however, a close cooperation between social housing and the larger context of the real estate developers has been considered as beneficial. The expansion of all kinds of social services pertaining to housing has not been considered the main function of housing developers given that a variety of such services is offered in Vienna by various other organisations.

In order to offer an integral concept as to supporting the mentioned housing issues and challenges, the integration of social and building aspects in one concept is considered essential. Whereas the erection of day care facilities and homes has been planned to a large extent for the 15 years to come, there is also a requirement for implementing supervised flat sharing communities, especially within existing areas.

This project shows clearly that guidelines by which the building requirements on the one hand and the coordination of chronological procedures, financial issues and building permissions on the other are required. Possible options for refurbishment plans and requirements will be discussed during periodic meetings of the so called "Wohnfond" and the "Fonds Soziales Wien" in Vienna.

The results of this project were presented in the context of the Viennese "Wohnbau Festwochen 2008/09".